Roy Paul - Early Career

Early Career

Paul was born on 18 April 1920 in Ton Pentre, in the valleys of South Wales, and was one of 12 children. He attended Bronllwyn School in Gelli. Paul left school at 15, and like many boys from the Rhondda Valley he became a miner. While playing football for Ton Boys Club he was spotted by Swansea Town, for whom he signed first as an amateur, and then a month later as a professional. The Swansea captain was Bill Imrie, a former Scotland international. Paul named Imrie as a strong influence in his early career, particularly for instructing him in the fundamentals of good wing-half play. Paul played for Swansea's junior sides, but just as he was approaching the fringes of the first team, the league was suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

At the start of the war Paul returned to the mines. He continued to represent Swansea in wartime leagues, and played for the senior team for the first time in 1939. Paul struggled to readapt to mining life, and volunteered for the Marines in 1940. He served as a sergeant physical training instructor, primarily in Devon, though he also spent part of the war in India. When in Devon he played football as a guest for Exeter City, and when in Wales he played wartime football for Swansea. Once the war was over Paul finally made his League debut for Swansea, having lost six years of his career to the war.

The Swansea coach in the immediate post-war period was Frank Barson, a notoriously aggressive character who was known as "the centre-forward's graveyard" in his playing days. Barson instructed Paul in the art of tackling during lengthy practise sessions, and made him aware of the tricks that a wily opponent could use to gain the upper hand in a physical battle. Paul went on to make 159 league appearances for Swansea in a four-year period, winning the Third Division South championship in 1948–49. An impressive appearance against top-flight club Arsenal in a 1950 FA Cup match resulted in the Londoners making an offer for the player, but Swansea turned it down.

Later that year, Paul received an offer of a trial with Colombian club Millonarios. Colombian clubs, who were not required to pay transfer fees as their governing body was not affiliated with FIFA, made similar offers to several British players. Paul was one of seven to make the trip to South America. Millonarios offered him a £3,000 signing on fee and £150 per month, far in excess of the £12 per week maximum wage in British football. Once in Colombia, Paul found himself unimpressed by the conditions. He remarked in his autobiography that seeing football pitches surrounded by barbed wire put him in mind of "a concentration camp, or maybe the monkey-house in the zoo". Paul stayed in Bogota for only ten days, without playing a single match. Swansea were angered by Paul's trip, and transfer-listed him upon his return. As a result, he transferred to Manchester City for £19,500, a British record for a half-back. Ken Barnes joined the club on the same day. The two became close friends; Paul was best man at Barnes' wedding.